United States v. Abdullah

United States District Court, D. New Jersey

April 26, 2017

United Statesv.Ishmael Abdullah

ORDER

Hon.
Douglas E. Arpert Magistrate Judge

Dear
Magistrate Judge Arpert:

Please
accept this letter-request to have Abdullah examined by a
second expert, Gerald Cooke, Ph.D., as a supplement to our
December 18, 2016 motion to have "Abdullah undergo a
psychological examination pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §4241
(b) and 4247 (b)...". Section 4247 (b) states, "A
... psychological examination ... shall be conducted by a
licensed ... psychologist, or, if the Court finds it
appropriate, by more than one such examiner"
(emphasis added). We believe that the Court should find it
appropriate to order a second psychological examination for
the following reasons:

A. THE
BOP REPORT IS INSUFFICIENT

1. Dr.
Zamano's Report at page 1, "DATES OF
EVALUATION": There was no evaluation done on 1/27.

2.
Report at page 1, 7th line from bottom: Abdullah was not
evaluated "throughout the evaluation
period." He was evaluated over three days (Friday,
Monday and Tuesday) at the end of the evaluation
period after a month of being housed at MCC.

3.
Report at pages 1 and 2, "EVALUATION PROCEDURES":
There was no reference to the 540 pages of medical records he
requested on March 3 and that I e-mailed him the evening of
March 5 (Exhibits 4 to 11). Since the three days of
evaluations were done by March 3, Dr. Zamano must have
considered these records important for the completion of his
Report, so the lack of any mention of these pages shows the
Report is insufficient.

4.
Report at page 4, Abdullah's arrests of 10/1/13 and
5/1/09: A psychologist may not have the proper training to
interpret an FBI rap sheet, but for Dr. Zamano to define
these two dismissed cases as part of his "adult
record" speak poorly as to his professional neutrality.

5.
Report at page 6, lines 1 to 4: Abdullah's father's
vivid recollection of memory lapses after Abdullah's
surgery (i.e., after he had a bullet and bullet fragments in
his head), lends great credibility to his short-term memory
loss, since this was months before his arrest.

6.
Report at page 6, "Monitored Telephone Calls and Emails
at MGC-New York": We have not seen a CD of these phone
calls and e-mails, which would certainly be helpful to the
resolution of this issue. Without a second psychological
evaluation, we would have to request that Dr. Zamano supply
us with a CD of all of these records before he may have to
travel to Trenton for a hearing pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
§4247 (d). With a second evaluation of Abdullah by a
psychologist of Abdullah's choosing that concurs with Dr.
Zamano's findings as to the competency of Abdullah to
assist his attorney in his defense, the CD and a lengthy
hearing will probably be unnecessary. Any findings in the
Report derived from these calls and e-mails may or may not be
insufficient, depending upon further evaluation.

7.
Communications between Abdullah and counsel, counsel and MCC,
and counsel and Abdullah: It should be noted here that
Abdullah and counsel communicated mostly through
Abdullah's nephew for reasons outside the issue at hand.
Counsel documented what his nephew relayed from Abdullah,
which may or may not be dependable but which casts light upon
Dr. Zamano's findings on the phone calls and e-mails
between Abdullah and his nephew. Counsel also documented
communications with MCC that are dependable and with the
above shed light on the unprofessional and
"last-minute" nature of Dr. Zamano's Report:

a. 1/30/17: Counsel discovers from the U.S. Marshal that
Abdullah is at MCC. The next day counsel sends MCC's
medical department a one-page letter and thirteen narrative
pages of Abdullah's post-gunshot brain injury history
from Helene Fuld Hospital and Princeton Brain and Spine
(Exhibit 1; the thirteen pages are summarized by Dr. Zamano
at pages 4 to 6, "Medical History").

b. 2/1/17: Nephew reports to counsel that Abdullah stated he
was bleeding from his head, and counsel referred the matter
to the U.S. Marshal, who responded and followed through
appropriately.

c. 2/15/17: Nephew reports to counsel that he is vomiting
blood. Counsel can find nothing on the BOP website as to how
he can contact MCC's legal counsel, so he ...

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